Methods and systems for resolving the incompatibility of media items playable from a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring hands-free accessibility of media items for play at a vehicle includes a vehicle entertainment computing system (VECS) configured to receive predetermined rules for voice-activated access of the media items. Violations of the rules are detected based on media item metadata. If a violation is detected, a prompt is outputted. Media items are retrieved and played based on voice-activated requests. One embodiment includes a method for monitoring hands-free accessibility of media items for play at a vehicle. A system for formatting media items for accessibility at a VECS includes a media item incompatibility resolution system (MIIRS) configured to resolve violations of the predetermined rules by receiving additional rules relating to formatting violating media items. The media items are searched and the violations addressed by reformatting the media items for voice-activated access. The media items are outputted to the MIIRS.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to methods and systems for resolving theincompatibility of media items playable from a vehicle.

2. Background Art

The TAG&RENAME software manufactured by Softpointer, Inc (available atwww.softpointer.com) is a music files tag editor that handles allpopular digital audio formats. With TAG&RENAME, a user can manually editmusic files tags, automatically fix and complete file tags using theonline FREEDB database, load titles and cover art from the AMAZON.COMserver, load titles from the TRACKTYPE.ORG server, get tags data fromfile names and its folders structures, rename your music files andfolders according to its music information in a batch, and create playlists. Tag&Rename is a handy management utility designed for many typesof music files. With Tag&Rename you can quickly and easily rename yourmusic collection using the embedded tag data within music files, writenew or edit existing tag information, create tags based on file names,get song information from the FREEDB server, or import it from theAMAZON.COM server.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,000 issued to Plastina et al. (directed to methodsand systems for repairing playlists) provides various systems andmethods which permit a user's content experience (e.g. music playingexperience) to be monitored and for metadata describing this experienceto be collected. This metadata can be dynamically updated as a userexperiences media content and then used to impart to the user apersonalized experience that is tailored to that specific user. A user'smetadata can, in some instances, be provided across a wide variety ofcomputing devices on which the user may experience the media content,thus standardizing the user's personalized media experience. Inaddition, intelligent or “smart” playlists can be provided which, insome instances, can be dynamically and automatically updated to reflectcurrent user experiences, thus providing a highly personalized andenjoyable content experience.

U.S. Publication Number 2007/0299978 issued to Neumann et al. (directedto management of podcasts) provides improved techniques that facilitatethe use of podcasts. The improved techniques can pertain to publishing,hosting, accessing, subscribing, managing, organizing, searching,browsing, transferring, and/or playing podcasts. According to oneaspect, tags are embedded into syndication feeds (e.g., RSS feeds) thatmay be made available for distribution by an online media store tofacilitate the management of podcasts. Such tags can include a block tagthat may be embedded into a syndication feed to indicate whether thefeed is to be blocked from being included in the online media store.According to another aspect, management of podcasts may be facilitatedby other mechanisms. In accordance with one embodiment, a user maychallenge the ownership of a podcast to block or remove a podcast fromthe online media store. In accordance with another embodiment, imagesmay be stored to allow efficient retrieval of the correspondingepisode(s) of a podcast.

SUMMARY

One aspect may include a computer implemented system for monitoring in avehicle the hands-free accessibility of a plurality of media items froma media item repository for play at the vehicle. The system may includea vehicle entertainment computing system (VECS). The VECS may beconfigured to receive a number of predetermined rules relating tovoice-activated access of one or more media items playable at the VECS.In one embodiment, the predetermined rules may include rules relating tothe format of the media items. In another embodiment, the predeterminedrules may include rules relating to the content of the media items.

The one or more media items may be associated with one or moreidentifying characteristics including, but not limited to, a genre,album, artist, or song. In one embodiment, the one or more media itemsmay be accessed by receiving a spoken request for one or more mediaitems using the one or more identifying characteristics. The requestsfor access to the one or more media items may be received by avoice-recognition engine.

The VECS may be further configured to detect violations of one or moreof the predetermined rules with respect to the accessibility of the oneor more media items. Detection of the violations may be based onmetadata associated with the one or more media items.

If one or more violations are detected, a prompt may be outputted at theVECS. The prompt may be outputted in a spoken language. The prompt mayfurther include instructions for addressing the one or more violations.

The VECS may be further configured to retrieve and play requested mediaitems based on a voice-activated request for the media items.

In one embodiment, the VECS may be configured to receive a linkconnecting a media item repository to the VECS for facilitating thetransmission of a number of media items between the media itemrepository and the VECS.

The system may further include a media item incompatibility resolutionsystem (MIIR). The MIIR may be configured to resolve the one or moreviolations of the predetermined rules in the media items. The resolutionof the violations may occur by receiving a number of additionalpredetermined rules relating to formatting the one or more violatingmedia items for voice-activated access of the media items.

The one or more violations may be addressed by reformatting the one ormore violating media items based on the additional predetermined rulesto enable voice-activated access of the one or more reformatted mediaitems. In one embodiment, the one or more media items may be associatedwith one or more identifying characteristics having a maximum number ofmedia item associations. The one or more violations may be addressed byincrementing the identifying characteristic upon reaching the maximumnumber.

The one or more reformatted media items may be then outputted to themedia incompatibility resolution system.

In one embodiment, the VECS may be further configured to receive accessto all non-violating media items. The VECS may play at least one of theplurality of non-violative media items.

Another aspect may include a computer-implemented method for monitoringin a vehicle the hands-free accessibility of a number of media itemsfrom a media item repository for play at the vehicle. The method mayinclude receiving a number of predetermined rules relating tovoice-activated access of one or more media items playable at a VECS.The requests for access to the one or more media items may be receivedby a voice-recognition engine. In one embodiment, the one or more mediaitems may be associated with one or more identifying characteristicsincluding, but not limited to, a genre, album, artist, or song. The oneor more media items may be accessed by receiving a spoken request forthe one or more media items using the one or more identifyingcharacteristics.

The method may further include detecting violations of one or more ofthe predetermined rules with respect to the accessibility of the one ormore media items. The violations may be detected based on metadataassociated with the one or more media items.

If one or more violations are detected, a prompt may be outputted at theVECS. The prompt may further include instructions for addressing the oneor more violations.

The method may further include retrieving and playing one or morerequested media items based on a voice-activated request for the one ormore media items.

The method may further include receiving a connection between a mediaitem repository and the vehicle entertainment computing system andfacilitating the transmission of a plurality of media items between themedia item repository and the vehicle entertainment computing system.

The method may further include resolving the one or more violations ofthe first plurality of predetermined rules. The one or more violationsmay be resolved by receiving a number of additional predetermined rulesrelating to formatting the one or more violating media items in order toenable voice-activated access of the of the one or more media items.

The method may further include addressing the one or more violations byreformatting the one or more violating media items based on theadditional rules. In one embodiment, the one or more media items may beassociated with one or more identifying characteristics having a maximumnumber of media item associations. The addressing step may furtherinclude incrementing the identifying characteristic upon reaching themaximum number.

The method may further include outputting the one or more reformattedmedia items to a media incompatibility resolution system.

The method may further include receiving access to all media items notviolating the first plurality of predetermined rules and, upon receivingaccess, playing at least one of the plurality of non-violative mediaitems.

Another aspect may include a computer implemented system for formattinga plurality of media items for accessibility at a VECS from a media itemrepository. The computer implemented system may include a media itemincompatibility resolution system which may be configured to resolve oneor more violations of a number of predetermined rules relating toaccessing media items at a VECS. The predetermined rules may be storedin a VECS.

The one or more violations may be resolved by receiving additionalpredetermined rules relating to formatting the one or more violatingmedia items. Based on the additional predetermined rules, searching aplurality of media items stored in a media item repository for one ormore violating media items requiring formatting.

The one or more violations may be addressed by reformatting the one ormore violating media items to enable voice-activated access of the oneor more reformatted media items

The one or more reformatted media items may then be outputted to themedia incompatibility resolution system.

These and other aspects of the present invention will be betterunderstood in view of the attached drawings and following detaileddescription of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example system for normalization of media items playablefrom a vehicle according to one of the various embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an example system for normalization of media items playablefrom a vehicle according to another one of the various embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows one example of the operation of the normalization of mediaitems playable from a vehicle according to one of the variousembodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed algorithm of the wizard for searching,retrieving, and updating media files according to one of the variousembodiments.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary display of an exemplary aspect of oneembodiment of the various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the operation of the normalization ofmedia items playable from a vehicle according to another one of thevarious embodiments.

FIG. 7 shows another example of the operation of the normalization ofmedia items playable from a vehicle according to another one of thevarious embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows another example of the operation of the normalization ofmedia items playable from a vehicle according to another one of thevarious embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein.However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various andalternative forms. Therefore, specific functional details herein are notto be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis forthe claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinaryskill in the art to variously employ the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates system architecture of an illustrative onboardcommunication system usable for playing media items from a vehicle. Avehicle computing entertainment system may contain a visual front endinterface 4 located in the vehicle. The user may also be able tointeract with the interface if it is provided, for example, with a touchsensitive screen. In another illustrative embodiment, the interactionoccurs through audible speech and speech synthesis.

In the illustrative embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 a processor 3 controlsthe operation of the system. Provided within the vehicle itself, theprocessor allows onboard processing of commands and routines. Further,the processor is connected to both temporary 5 and permanent storage 7.In this illustrative embodiment, the temporary storage is random accessmemory (RAM) and the permanent storage is a hard disk drive (HDD) orflash memory.

The processor is also provided with a number of different inputs for theuser to interface with the processor. In this illustrative embodiment, amicrophone 29, an auxiliary input 25 (for input 33), a USB input 23, aGPS input 24 and a BLUETOOTH input 15 are all provided. An inputselector 51 is also provided, to allow a user to swap between variousinputs. Input to both the microphone and the auxiliary connector isconverted from analog to digital by a converter 27 before being passedto the processor.

Outputs to the system can include, but are not limited to, a visualdisplay 4 and a speaker 13 or stereo system output. The speaker isconnected to an amplifier 11 and receives its signal from the processor3 through a digital-to-analog converter 9. Output can also be made to aremote BLUETOOTH device (not shown) or a USB device (not shown) alongthe bi-directional data streams shown at 19 and 21 respectively.

In one illustrative embodiment, the system 1, uses the BLUETOOTHtransceiver 15 to communicate 17 with a user's nomadic device 53 (e.g.,cell phone, smart phone, PDA, etc.). The nomadic device can then be usedto communicate 59 with a network 61 outside the vehicle 31 through, forexample, communication 55 with a cellular tower 57.

Pairing a nomadic device 53 and the BLUETOOTH transceiver 15 can beinstructed through a button 53 or similar input, telling the CPU thatthe onboard BLUETOOTH transceiver will be paired with a BLUETOOTHtransceiver in a nomadic device.

Data may be communicated between CPU 3 and network 61 utilizing adata-plan associated with nomadic device 53. Alternatively, it may bedesirable to include an onboard modem 63 in order to transfer databetween CPU 3 and network 61 over the voice band. In one illustrativeembodiment, the processor is provided with an operating system includingan API to communicate with modem application software. The modemapplication software may access an embedded module or firmware on theBLUETOOTH transceiver to complete wireless communication with a remoteBLUETOOTH transceiver (such as that found in a nomadic device). Inanother embodiment, nomadic device 53 includes a modem for voice band orbroadband data communication. In the data-over-voice embodiment, atechnique known as frequency division multiplexing may be implementedwhen the owner of the nomadic device can talk over the device while datais being transferred. At other times, when the owner is not using thedevice, the data transfer can use the whole bandwidth (300 Hz to 3.4 kHzin one example). If the user has a data-plan associated with the nomadicdevice, it is possible that the data-plan allows for broad-bandtransmission and the system could use a much wider bandwidth (speedingup data transfer). In still another embodiment, nomadic device 53 isreplaced with a cellular communication device (not shown) that isaffixed to vehicle 31.

In one embodiment, incoming data can be passed through the nomadicdevice via a data-over-voice or data-plan, through the onboard BLUETOOTHtransceiver and into the vehicle's internal processor 3. This data mayinclude such things as media items stored in the nomadic device. In oneembodiment, the data can be stored on the HDD 7 until such time as thedata is no longer needed.

A number of peripherals may be in communication with or attached tosystem 1, such as a personal navigation device 54, having, for example,a USB connection 56, and/or an antenna 58, a vehicle navigation device60, having a USB 62 or other connection, an onboard GPS device 24, orremote navigation system (not shown) having connectivity to network 61.In one embodiment, peripherals 54, 60, 24 and the remote navigationsystem may be used to obtain route information from one or more of thesesources.

Various other peripherals may be in communication with system 1, forexample, Aux device 65 having a USB connection 69 and/or antenna 67which, in one embodiment, may be a media player (PMP) such as PMPsmanufactured by The Apple Corporation and Microsoft (hereinafterreferred to as PMP 65). PMP 65 may have a plurality of media itemsstored in memory (not shown) and playable at system 1, terminal 82 (FIG.2), or other computing systems. Media items stored in PMP 65 mayinclude, but are not limited to, audio and video files. In oneembodiment, media items may be playable from the vehicle with or withoutthe PMP 65.

System 1 may be configured to receive a number of media items and detectif any of the media items violate a predetermined set of rules relatingto playing the media items at system 1. The predetermined rules mayrelate to playing the media items through the use of a voice engine (notshown) in communication with system 1 (e.g., stored in CPU 3). Thepredetermined rules may be programmed to and stored in CPU 3. Thisprocess may be referred to as “normalization,” and will be furtherdescribed below. If an error is detected by system 1, the user/occupantmay be directed to an off board site (e.g., a website) to address thedetected violations to generate playable media items.

System 1 may retrieve one or more requested media items based on avoice-activated request. The one or more requested media items may thenbe played from system 1.

FIG. 2 shows an example system for addressing the incompatibility of themedia items for playablity at a vehicle according to another embodimentof the present invention. The user may connect the media device (e.g.,PMP 65) to a terminal 82. Connection 83 may include wired (e.g., USB,FireWire, and the like) or wireless (e.g., BLUETOOTH, WiFi and thelike). The terminal 82 may be located at a person's home, place ofbusiness, or at any location where a user may have access to a terminal82. Terminal 82 may be a desktop, laptop, or any other personalcomputing device. In one embodiment, terminal 82 may be in communicationwith a database 86 having a plurality of media items. One example ofsuch a database is the ITUNES database manufactured by APPLECORPORATION.

System 80 may further include media item incompatibility resolutiontools (also called error correction tool) for addressing media itemviolations. Tool 88 may be in communication with terminal 82 andprogrammed to a computer readable medium stored in terminal 82 oraccessible over a network (not shown) on a remote terminal (not shown).Tool 88 may include computer readable instructions for performing theoperation of the various embodiments of the present invention (as willbe described in further detail below). In one embodiment, tool 88 may bedownloadable from a remote server (not shown). In another embodiment,tool 88 may additionally or alternatively be stored in CPU 3 and incommunication with system 1 (of FIG. 1).

FIG. 3 shows one example of the operation for resolving theincompatibility of media items playable from a vehicle according to anembodiment of the present invention. PMP 65 may be connected to the CPU3 (e.g., through USB or BLUETOOTH) of the system 1. CPU 3 will receivethe connection as in block 100 and read the media items from the PMP 65as in block 112 to check for any violations in the media items as inblock 112 against a plurality of predetermined rules programmed to orstored in CPU 3. In one embodiment, the rules may relate to playing themedia items through a voice engine (not shown) in communication withsystem 1. If the media items do not violate any rules as in block 114,CPU 3 may listen for and receive a command from a user for media play asin block 116. In one embodiment, the command may be made via anoccupant's voice and received by a voice engine (not shown) incommunication with system 1. In another embodiment, the command may beinitiated by the press of a button at the vehicle (e.g., from thesteering wheel, instrument cluster, center console, etc.). The CPU 3will then play the requested media file as in block 118. An examplecommand may be “play Rock.”

If violations are detected with any media item in the media library asin block 114, a prompt or message indicating an error may output to theuser upon making the connection as in block 120. In one embodiment, theerror prompt may indicate, in spoken language, that an error exists inthe media library and may also state that media items having an errorcannot be played. The error prompt or message may alternatively be anyaudible sound. The prompt may further direct the user to a website todownload tool 88 (e.g., a “wizard”) for addressing the media itemincompatibility as in block 120. The website may be restricted toregistered members (e.g., owners of vehicles with a system 1), requiringuser registration or authentication for access. Alternatively, CPU 3 maybe configured to execute, or download and execute, the error correctingsoftware within the vehicle.

The one or more detected rule violations (i.e., errors) of the mediaitems may typically be with regard to the indexing of the media items.An index may be rules relating to a media library's organization ofmedia items. Media items may be of a variety of media file formatsincluding, but not limited to, MP3, MP4, WAV, AAC, and the like.Non-limiting examples of indexing errors may include misspellings,incorrect capitalization, words in all capitalization, incorrectspacing, and the like. Specific examples of errors and error correctionwill be further described below.

The system 1 may not play any music containing an error. Upon detectingerrors, the user may choose not to fix the error as in block 121. If so,system 1 may receive the instruction to play one or more media items asin block 122 and upon receiving the instructions, those items notcontaining an error may be played as in block 124 from vehicle 31.

If the user decides to fix the error (e.g., at user terminal 82) as inblock 121, the user may visit a website (as may be directed by thesystem 1 according to one embodiment) from a terminal 82 as in block126. If the user has not downloaded the wizard as in block 128, the usermay log onto the website as in block 130 and download the wizard to theterminal 82 as in block 132. The website may be restricted to users withvehicles having a system 1.

In one embodiment, as represented in FIG. 5 upon visiting the website,the user may access a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page 150containing a link 152 to the wizard. One example of a question that maybe asked and is associated with the software may be “Where can Idownload the Sync My iTunes Software?” The answer may provide a directlink to the media data item correction software (i.e., wizard) fordownloading to the user's terminal. The answer may alternatively bedirected to an external website from which to download the software.

In another illustrative embodiment, any media device (e.g., PMP 65 orFlashdrive) may be connected to user terminal 82 and one or more mediadata item errors on the media storage device may be detected. If theerror correction wizard has been downloaded to user terminal 82 (as willbe described below), an error detection prompt may be transmitted fromuser terminal. In one embodiment, no error message is transmitted anderrors are detected upon or soon after activating the wizard.

Referring back to FIG. 3, after the wizard has been downloaded as inblock 128, the user may activate the error correction wizard as in block134. The wizard may guide a user through the steps necessary forcorrecting the errors in the media items as in block 136. The wizard maybe a GUI based program. In one embodiment, the wizard is designed tolook and behave like a standard MICROSOFT WINDOWS wizard.

In one embodiment, the wizard may resolve violations to media filesstored in a user's electronic media library (e.g., ITUNES manufacturedby THE APPLE CORPORATION). The media library may be stored in theterminal's 82 memory or on a server (not shown) accessed through anetwork. The electronic media library may be used to upload, update andstore media files to the user terminal 82, PMP 65, a cell phone (notshown) or any other media device. Additionally or alternatively, mediaitems can be played directly from the electronic media library.

The user may activate the wizard as in block 134 from the terminal 82 byclicking on a GUI icon, selecting the program from a menu, or othermeans known in the art. Upon completing the search and correction stepsas in block 136, the user may or may not be asked to confirm anycorrections made through the wizard as represented in at least twoalternative embodiments of the algorithm represented by FIGS. 6 and 7.Upon resolving the media item violations, the PMP 65 and/or medialibrary may be updated as in block 138.

In an alternative embodiment not illustrated in FIG. 3, the error may becorrected at the vehicle utilizing CPU 3 (FIG. 1). Preferably, the tool88 is already installed in system 1 (e.g., within hard disk 7).Alternatively, the tool 88 may be uploaded to hard disk 7 from a flashdrive at USB interface 23, or downloaded wirelessly. Wireless downloadmay be accomplished utilizing a person's cellular telephone connected toCPU 3 by BLUETOOTH transceiver 15. A data over voice (or “in-band”) dataconnection may be established with a remote service provider (not shown)for downloading the tool 88. Alternatively, a telephone having a dataplan may be utilized to provide CPU 3 with a broadband connection to theinternet for downloading the tool 88. Preferably, authentication isimplemented to determine which vehicles have downloaded the tool 88.This may be accomplished by transmitting information including thevehicle identification number (VIN) together with the downloadedrequest.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show two alternative algorithms for normalization of mediaitems in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In oneembodiment shown in FIG. 6, the wizard may search the media items forerrors as in block 170. A confirmation may be displayed for a user toaccept or reject the changes as in block 200. If the changes areaccepted, the wizard will update the media items with the changes as inblock 202. In an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, thealgorithm may provide for automatic updates without user confirmation.The media items may be searched as in block 212 for errors. In block214, the media items with errors may be modified. If furthermodifications remain, algorithm will loop as in block 216 and searchagain for errors. If no further modifications remain as in block 216,the media items may be updated as in block 218. In all cases wheremodifications to media items have been made, the wizard may update themedia items as in block 138 (FIG. 3). Alternatively or additionally,simultaneously or soon after, the wizard may update the media items in aconnected media device (e.g., PMP 65 or Flashdrive) as in block 138(FIG. 3).

Correcting media item errors in the media library may be referred to as“normalization.” Normalization of a user's media library assists ingenerating a better user experience when playing media items from thesystem 1 or from the user terminal 82. For example, a user's media itemlibrary may list Rock music as “RoCk”, “ROCK” or “rOcK” under the genrefield. If a user does not correct these errors in the media library, amedia item under this genre may not play because Rock, as one example,as dictated by the predetermined rules programmed to CPU 3, may requirea certain syntax or format for a media item (e.g., written as “Rock”).The predetermined rules may also related to the content of the mediaitems.

Accordingly, when indexed with all capital letters for example, CPUs mayrecognize the media item as an acronym “R.O.C.K.” rather than as a wordfor Rock. As such, the wizard may find and correct such violations tothe predetermined rules and others. The result, therefore, may be thatwhen a spoken request for “Rock” is made by the user, all media itemsassociated with this genre will be recognized as “Rock” and played.Therefore, normalization provides for an even flow of media items playedfrom a media device and the user is given a better playing and listeningexperience. Further details and limitations including categorization andorganization of the media library (e.g., media file type, artist name,genre) will be further described below.

In one embodiment, a check may additionally or alternatively be madeagainst a media item content data based (for example, the Free DBdatabase) to further detect violations of content of the media items.For example, a check may be made to determine whether a plurality ofmedia items are associated with the correct genres, artists, album, etc.As another example, a check may also be made to verify the spelling ofeach media item.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed algorithm of the wizard for searching,retrieving, and updating media files according to one embodiment. Alaunch wizard function will be initiated as in block 160. The wizard isdisplayed at the user terminal (or alternatively, within the vehicle) asin block 162. The wizard may commence at a start page and will bedisplayed at the user terminal as represented in block 164. The wizardmay proceed to a search page as in block 166 which may initiate a seriesof actions including, but not limited to, triggering one or morebackground actions or processes (i.e., threads), displaying the searchpage, and preparing to receive the data as represented in block 166.

In one embodiment, a command button on the search page (not shown) maybe illuminated to indicate readiness to begin the search process. Fromthe search page, a search thread may be triggered as represented inblock 172. The search thread may perform a number of tasks including,but not limited to, receiving data from a media database through asoftware communications interface (e.g., an ITUNES COM interfacedeveloped by MICROSOFT), receiving a media item, and comparing theitem's metadata to one or more normalization rules to determine validityas represented in block 172. Normalization rules may be programmed to acomputer readable medium and/or stored in terminal 82 or CPU 3. In oneembodiment, the normalization rules may be programmed to tool 88 anddownloadable to terminal 82 and/or CPU 3 and stored in memory. Updatesto the rules may be made by a user and/or downloaded. In one embodiment,the user may define his or her own rules and program them to tool 88.

The search thread may continue the process until it receives invalidmetadata. Metadata to and from the search thread may be temporarilystored in a buffer thread as represented in block 174.

Invalid metadata may be captured and processed by the search page asrepresented in block 166. If the search process has not yet beencompleted (e.g., unrecoverable errors remain), the search process asdescribed above may re-commence as represented in block 166. In oneembodiment, an unrecoverable error may be an invalid metadata fieldwhich is not available for write access. This check may be made upon orsoon after discovering any invalid metadata. If the search process hascompleted as represented in block 166, an invalid data track list may begenerated as represented in block 168 and the data may be sent to theupdate process as in block 170.

The wizard may then proceed to an update page as represented in block170 which may or may not require user intervention. By launching theupdate page, steps similar to those when launching the search page maybe generated. Specifically, displaying the update page will trigger thelaunch of various threads as represented in block 170. There may be amanager thread as represented in block 176 and an update thread as inblock 178. The manager thread as represented in block 176 may decidewhich changes to make to the invalid media track list. The update threadas represented in block 178 may make the changes to the invalid tracklist. In an alternative embodiment to the algorithm, there may be nomanager thread. In yet another embodiment of the algorithm, there may bea plurality of update threads which may allow for multiple updatessimultaneously.

The manager thread may perform a number of tasks including, but notlimited to, launching further threads (e.g., the update thread) andsending a track for update as represented in block 176. Tracks to beupdated may be placed in the shared queue as represented in block 180.The update thread as in block 178 may perform a number of tasksincluding receiving updated data packets (i.e., a message) from themanager thread through the shared queue, updating a data track, and/orsending the updated data to a software communications interface (e.g.,an ITUNES COM interface developed by MICROSOFT) for updating the medialibrary database as represented in block 178. Metadata to and from theupdate thread may be temporarily stored in a buffer thread asrepresented in block 182. Updated data tracks as in block 190 may betransmitted as represented in block 184 and captured and processed bythe update page as represented in block 170.

A logfile including a confirmation of changes may be generated detailingthe changes made to the media library and the media items as representedin block 186. The logfile may be an ASCII text file (or other fileformat) and may be stored in memory. When the search process has beencompleted, the wizard may move to a finish page as represented in block188. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, instructions mayadditionally or alternatively be provided for updating a media devicewith updated media items as in block 187 prior to presentation of thefinish page as in block 188 of FIG. 7.

In at least one embodiment, the normalization process may work toresolve incompatibility issues associated with playing media items fromthe vehicle, including but not limited to: (1) long indexing times, (2)indexing errors whenever metadata is incomplete, and (3) indexing errorswhenever metadata exceeds certain limits. The wizard may begin thenormalization process by searching the media items stored in terminal 82(or alternatively CPU 3) to find incompatible media items (i.e.,“metadata”). The search of metadata may be controlled based on one ormore rules/guidelines and exceptions to these rules programmed to, forexample, tool 88. Various embodiments of these rules will now bedescribed. For example, the wizard may include rules to search forparticular types of media files. Non-limiting examples include AdvancedAudio Encoding (AAC), Waveform Audio Format (WAV), MPEG3 (MP3), WindowsMedia Audio (WMA), and MPEG4 (MP4). Additionally, or alternatively, thewizard may include rules to search metadata based on one or morecharacteristics (e.g., genre, artist, album, and track or name).

The search for incorrect metadata conducted by the wizard may be furtherguided by one or more rules regarding metadata containing whitespaces ornull characters (i.e., a null byte). Table 1 provides some non-limitingexamples of such rules:

TABLE 1 How is it fixed Rule (if violated)? Contains 1 or more non- Usea default whitespace characters string (e.g. (i.e., Must not be blank,“Unknown”) or contain only whitespace) Contains no whitespace Spacecharacters character other than are used instead spaces (i.e., no tabsor new lines) Begins and ends with non- Deletes beginning whitespacecharacters or ending whitespace All whitespace characters Allmulti-space are surrounded by non- fields are whitespace characterstruncated to a single space Genre must be in title Converted to titlecase case Non-genre meta-data Converted to title fields longer than 3case characters, cannot be upper case

The search for incorrect metadata conducted by the wizard may be furtherguided by one or more rules regarding the instances of unique mediaitems that may be associated with an identifying characteristic. Thisrule may ensure that the fields in the media library are different butretain a similarity for media play. For example, a rule may require thatonly 2000 unique albums be categorized under an artist's name. If a userhas more than 4000 albums listed under “The Rolling Stones” (i.e., therule is violated twice), the wizard will alter the listing as:

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones1

The Rolling Stones2

Table 2 provides some non-limiting examples of such rules:

TABLE 2 How is it fixed (if Property violated)? Can have no more than2000 Unrecoverable Error unique genres Can have no more than 5000 A newgenre is added with an unique artists within a incrementing numericsuffix genre (e.g., Rock, Rock 1) Can have no more than 2000 A newartist is added with unique albums within an an incrementing numericartist suffix (e.g., Eric Clapton, Eric Clapton 1) Can have no more than2000 A new album is added with an tracks within an album incrementingnumeric suffix (e.g., Album, Album 1) Combinations ofgenre/artist/album/track do not have to be unique, and do not affect theconstraints

In one illustrative embodiment, there may be exceptions to the ruleswhich take precedence over the general rules exemplified above inTable 1. Each meta data field may have its own list of exceptions.Accordingly, any data item meeting the exception will not be considereda violation (despite violating the general rules). For example, where agenre for a media item is left blank, the media item may be changed to“unknown genre” rather than “unknown” as exemplified in Table 1.

The normalization process may also include rules for updating the mediaitems in the media library once the invalid metadata has been searchedand found. In some instances, a track file may be checked to ensure thatit is available for write access. If not, the media item may not beupdated (i.e., it is an unrecoverable error). Updates may only be madeto erroneous metadata (e.g., metadata that is incompatible withplayability from a vehicle). Non-limiting examples may include: (1) anytab, new line, or multiple consecutive space characters may be replacedand updated with a single space character, (2) any meta data fieldcontaining more than 3 consecutive capital letters may be normalized totitle case, and (3) genres containing different capitalizations (e.g.,RoCK or “rock”) may be replaced/updated with title case spellings (e.g.,“Rock”). Other updating rules may include (1) replacing blank fields(e.g., using Composer and Album Artist metadata as replacements forblank meta data in the Artist field), and (2) using UNICODE encoding forupdates.

The wizard may also contain rules for the graphical user interface(GUI). There may be one or more rules pertaining to the operation of thewizard. For example there may be rules relating to (1) the wizardinterface (e.g., it may be comprised of screens including introduction,search, update, and conclusion), (2) page presentation, (3) content ofthe wizard (e.g., an instructions or help option on each page), and/or(4) when the user may quit the wizard (e.g., at anytime or after asearch is made). In one embodiment, if the user cancels or quits whileupdating is in process, the user may receive a prompt asking if the userwould like to keep their changes. If not, then any changes may beundone.

There may be further non-limiting rules and features of the wizard. Forexample, the wizard may maintain a text log of updates and thereforepresent the user with the changes and the number of changes made to theuser's media library. As previously mentioned, the changes may bepresented to the user prior to permanently making the changes. Forexample, the user may be shown the original incorrect metadata (i.e.,the file names) compared to the updated version.

The user may be able to expand and collapse all metadata changes (e.g.,if there are numerous changes unable to all fit in one screen).Furthermore, the user may be presented with an ongoing progress of theupdate along with an estimated time to completion. During the search,the wizard may include a search pause/resume button. When the search iscomplete, there may be an indicator stating that the search is complete(e.g., the pause/resume indicator may change to a “Search Complete”indicator). During the update, the wizard may include an updatepause/resume button. When the update is complete, there may be anindicator stating that the update is complete (e.g., the pause/resumeindicator may change to an “Update Complete” indicator). In oneembodiment, a user may not be able to go to the update screen until thesearch for incorrect metadata is complete or go to the final screenuntil the update has completed.

The final wizard page may include a “finish” button. In one embodiment,if there are no errors in the media items, the wizard may skip theupdate screen and confirm that no errors were found. All changes made tothe media library may be stored in a database 86 or in memory (notshown).

In one embodiment, upon completion of the search and updates, the usermay connect his or her media device to the user terminal 82 or system 1(if not already connected) to update the changes to the media device.The user may be presented with instructions on updating the media device(e.g., PMP 65). Accordingly, upon making the updates, the user mayreceive an error free user experience from their media device. Forexample, the user may play his or her PMP 65 and receive an error freeuser experience.

While the best mode for carrying out the invention has been described indetail, those familiar with the art to which this invention relates willrecognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing theinvention as defined by the following claims.

1. A computer implemented system for monitoring in a vehicle thehands-free accessibility of a plurality of media items from a media itemrepository for play at the vehicle, the computer implemented systemcomprising: a memory; a processor; and an audio output controlled by theprocessor, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a firstplurality of predetermined rules relating to voice-activated access ofone or more media items playable at a vehicle entertainment computingsystem, wherein requests for access to the one or more media items arereceived by a voice-recognition engine; detect violations of one or moreof the first plurality of predetermined rules in relation to theaccessibility of the one or more media items based on metadataassociated with the one or more media items; if one or more violationsare detected, output a prompt at the vehicle entertainment computingsystem regarding the presence of one or more violations in relation tothe accessibility of the one or more media items; retrieve one or morerequested media items based on a voice-activated request for the one ormore media items; output the one or more requested media items throughthe audio output; and receive a link connecting a media item repositoryto the processor, wherein the connecting link facilitates thetransmission of a plurality of media items between the media itemrepository and the processor.
 2. The computer implemented system ofclaim 1 wherein the prompt further includes instructions for addressingthe one or more violations.
 3. The computer implemented system of claim1 wherein the one or more media items are associated with one or moreidentifying characteristics and wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to access the one or more media items by receiving a spokenrequest for the one or more media items using the one or moreidentifying characteristics.
 4. The computer implemented system of claim3 wherein the one or more identifying characteristics includes at leastone of a genre, album, artist, or song.
 5. The computer implementedsystem of claim 1 further comprising: a media item incompatibilityresolution system configured to resolve the one or more violations ofthe first plurality of predetermined rules by: receiving a secondplurality of predetermined rules relating to formatting the one or moremedia items violating the first plurality of predetermined rules inorder to enable voice-activated access of the one or more violatingmedia items; addressing the one or more violations of the firstplurality of predetermined rules by reformatting the one or moreviolating media items based on the second plurality of predeterminedrules to enable voice-activated access of the one or more reformattedmedia items at the processor; and outputting the one or more reformattedmedia items to the media incompatibility resolution system.
 6. Thecomputer implemented system of claim 4 wherein the one or more mediaitems are associated with one or more identifying characteristics, theone or more identifying characteristics having a maximum number of mediaitem associations, wherein addressing the one or more violations furtherincludes incrementing the identifying characteristic upon reaching themaximum number.
 7. The computer implemented system of claim 1 whereinthe processor is further configured to receive access to all media itemsnot violating the first plurality of predetermined rules and, uponreceiving access, play at least one of the plurality of non-violativemedia items at the processor.
 8. The computer implemented system ofclaim 1 wherein the first plurality of predetermined rules relate to theformat of the media items.
 9. The computer implemented system of claim 1wherein the first plurality of predetermined rules relate to the contentof the media items.
 10. The computer implemented system of claim 1wherein the prompt is outputted in a spoken language.
 11. A computerimplemented method for monitoring in a vehicle the hands-freeaccessibility of a plurality of media items from a media item repositoryfor play at the vehicle, the computer implemented method comprising:receiving a first plurality of predetermined rules relating tovoice-activated access of one or more media items playable at a vehicleentertainment computing system, wherein requests for access to the oneor more media items are received by a voice-recognition engine;detecting violations of one or more of the first plurality ofpredetermined rules in relation to the accessibility of the one or moremedia items based on metadata associated with the one or more mediaitems; if one or more violations are detected, outputting a prompt atthe vehicle entertainment computing system regarding the presence of oneor more violations in relation to the accessibility of the one or moremedia items; retrieving one or more requested media items based on avoice-activated request for the one or more media items; playing the oneor more requested media items through an audio output; receiving aconnection between a media item repository and the vehicle entertainmentcomputing system; and facilitating the transmission of a plurality ofmedia items between the media item repository and the vehicleentertainment computing system.
 12. The computer implemented method ofclaim 11 wherein the one or more media items are associated with one ormore identifying characteristics and wherein the computer implementedmethod further comprises accessing the one or more media items byreceiving a spoken request for the one or more media items using the oneor more identifying characteristics.
 13. The computer implemented methodof claim 12 wherein the one or more identifying characteristics includesat least one of a genre, album, artist, or song.
 14. The computerimplemented method of claim 11 further comprising: resolving the one ormore violations of the first plurality of predetermined rules by:receiving a second plurality of predetermined rules relating toformatting the one or more media items violating the first plurality ofpredetermined rules in order to enable voice-activated access of the ofthe one or more violating media items; addressing the one or moreviolations of the first plurality of predetermined rules by reformattingthe one or more violating media items based on the second plurality ofpredetermined rules to enable voice-activated access of the one or morereformatted media items at the vehicle entertainment computing device;and outputting the one or more reformatted media items to a mediaincompatibility resolution system.
 15. The computer implemented methodof claim 14 wherein the one or more media items are associated with oneor more identifying characteristics, the one or more identifyingcharacteristics having a maximum number of media item associations,wherein the addressing step further includes incrementing theidentifying characteristic upon reaching the maximum number.
 16. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 11 further comprising receivingaccess to all media items not violating the first plurality ofpredetermined rules and, upon receiving access, playing at least one ofthe plurality of non-violative media items.
 17. The computer implementedmethod of claim 11 wherein the prompt further includes instructions foraddressing the one or more violations.
 18. A computer implemented systemfor formatting a plurality of media items for accessibility at a vehicleentertainment computing system from a media item repository, thecomputer implemented system comprising: a memory; a processor; and anaudio output controlled by the processor, wherein the processor isconfigured to: resolve one or more violations of a first plurality ofpredetermined rules with respect to accessing media items at a vehicleentertainment computing system, wherein the first plurality ofpredetermined rules are stored in a vehicle entertainment computingsystem, by: receive a second plurality of predetermined rules relatingto formatting the one or more media items violating the first pluralityof predetermined rules; based on the second plurality of predeterminedrules, searching a plurality of media items stored in a media itemrepository for the one or more violating media items requiringformatting; address the one or more violations of the first plurality ofpredetermined rules by reformatting the one or more violating mediaitems based on the second plurality of predetermined rules to enablevoice-activated access of the one or more reformatted media items;output the one or more reformatted media items to the mediaincompatibility resolution system.